This is actually a really long chapter, so I'm gonna get right to it. Please enjoy. I'm sure you will.

Disclaimer: I may own some really cool things, but I don't own the coolest thing in the world. And that's Teen Titans. I do own something cool though. I own this story.

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Chapter 13:

Speak For Yourself

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A few more days passed by quickly in the infirmary. Cyborg continued to run tests on Raven to be sure that Malchior didn't leave any "surprises". It certainly seemed like him to do so, so Raven agreed. After running the final test, Cyborg gave her a clean bill of health. Raven still had to use her powers as little as possible, and she wasn't allowed to go on missions just yet. But Raven was happy to be told that she could go back to her own room. Part of Raven missed the quiet, but the other part of her had grown to accept the fact that she was the only one in the tower that preferred it.

Leaving the medical bay was actually less difficult than expected. She was easily able to stand up and walk out the door, though Cyborg kept warning her that she would be experiencing a lot of pain. Sure, because she hadn't stood in so long, she felt a little dizzy at first and her vision blacked out for a second, but that was normal for someone who hadn't stood in so long.

After the sliding door closed shut, Raven breathed in the scent of freedom. She was no longer trapped in a medical room, helpless. She could do what she wanted now. And that freedom felt so good.

She walked down the familiar halls of the tower to get to her room. She could use a nice, long meditation right about now.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, she collapsed, screaming in pain as a vision began to form.

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"Oh, Raven. If only you could see this. Your green 'prince charming' has come to rescue you. Too bad he'll have to go too."

'Wait. Where am I? What's going on?'

She watched as Beast Boy quickly pulled out his communicator. She had no idea what was going on, or why Beast Boy was there, but she watched him. "MAYDAY, MAYDAY! Report to Raven's room! It's Malchior! He's back!"

'Malchior? But… the other three took care of him! He's gone. At least, they said he's gone.' Raven watched as, sure enough, Malchior advanced towards Beast Boy. She began to panic; for Beast Boy's sake.

Raven searched around her, her short hair flinging back and forth and her amethyst eyes moving along with her head. What was going on? Where was she? She searched for the answers to no avail.

Then, an equally pale figure appeared next to her. She too levitated, her cape tossing in the wind. The figure's white hood was up, but Raven instantly knew who she was.

"Mother?" Raven asked, but she already knew the answer. The figure nodded, and pointed down to the scene that was unfolding.

Raven looked down and realized what she was seeing. She now had a bird's-eye-view of her own room, the night that Malchior had returned. Raven saw her own body in the corner of the room, severely maimed. She couldn't believe her eyes. She saw the blood coming out of her wounds and felt sick. No wonder she had needed stitches. Malchior and Beast Boy were now engaged in a verbal fight. And so far, Beast Boy was losing.

"…Can't help you either. No one can. Your Raven made the mistake to open up to me. She told me her weaknesses. She was alone. Nobody loved her. Nobody cared. Nobody accepted her. Nobody gave her a chance. Now, she's going to be even lonelier. Because all who stand in my way, before I finish her off, will be exterminated." Malchior was now threatening.

"Beast Boy…" Raven said softly, suddenly feeling very protective of the green changeling. She knew that Beast Boy couldn't handle Malchior by himself. Raven started to move towards him, but Arella held her arm in Raven's way. She shook her head, not making eye contact with the empath. Raven normally would have protested, but she decided that she should just watch and see what happened.

"WHAT ABOUT YOU?" Beast Boy yelled. He was desperately trying to reason with the wizard. "Didn't you love her? Didn't you care?"

'No.' Raven already knew the answer.

Malchior sighed, but Raven knew he was faking. "It's a shame really. Someone so beautiful has never been loved. But I guess the lonely die lonely."

Raven felt the sting of tears come into her eyes. One by one they fell from her eyes.

Malchior was now advancing again on Beast Boy. He made a fist with his outstretched hand and Beast Boy was sent flying across the room, finally crashing hard against the wall, the wind getting knocked out of him.

"BEAST BOY!" Raven screamed. She had to get down there. She had to help him. She had to… She had to. As she started to ascend downwards towards him, Arella wrapped her arms around the girl's waste. "LET ME GO! I HAVE TO HELP HIM!" she struggled, but her mother was strong. Tears were now coming at a fast rate. Raven finally stopped fighting and Arella pointed down towards to scene again. With a slightly blurry vision, Raven directed her attention to the verbal and now physical battle.

"SPEAK FOR YOURSELF, MALCHIOR! And she's not alone! She knows that!" Beast Boy was now shouting. Even from where Raven was levitating, she could see tears glistening in his emerald eyes. But wait.

What did he just say?

The scene dissolved into a pure white landscape. The two touched down onto the pure white ground, but Raven's mind was far from this strange place.

What had Beast Boy said?

"Speak for yourself, Malchior…"

So what did that mean? Raven thought back to what had happened before. Malchior had just said it was a shame that she had never been…

Then Raven understood.

Loved.

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Raven awoke in a pair of arms. She was being carried somewhere.

She looked up and saw Beast Boy's worried face looking back at her. He sighed a heavy sigh of relief and pulled Raven closer to his body in something that kind of resembled a hug. He closed his eyes for a second and then gave her a warm, sincere smile.

"Raven, you've got to stop scaring me like that." He said quietly. Raven gave him a confused look, but she had to admit something. Beast Boy was much stronger than she had originally thought. When people looked at him, they saw a skinny green elf. But, there was more to it than that.

"What happened this time?" she asked him, suddenly feeling very weak. She had a large head ache and her body was aching for some reason.

"You collapsed on your way to your room. I came out just in time. I found you lying on the floor, thrashing around, screaming…" he paused and looked away.

"Screaming….?" Raven asked. She had a feeling that she wasn't going to like what she was about to hear.

Beast Boy looked back at her. "Well… you were screaming… 'Beast Boy'."

Raven gulped. Her eyes widened in embarrassment. A blush found its way onto her cheeks for about the millionth time.

"I can explain." She started, and told him about the vision and what she had witnessed. Beast Boy seemed shocked.

"Is that what happened?" Raven asked him. Beast Boy nodded. "Yeah. Word for word."

"I guess Malchior was hurting you, so I started screaming… well, screaming your name. It was just a dream though."

Beast Boy waited as the door to her room slid open. He carried her into her room and placed her on her bed, fixing the pillows so that she was more comfortable. She thanked him and he continued the conversation.

"Rae, I mean, Raven, that doesn't sound like a dream to me. Like I said, that was word for word to what actually happened that night. Well, all except for… never mind." Beast Boy said, obviously uncomfortable with what he was about to say.

Raven tensed up, already knowing what it was he was leaving out. She had specifically left out that last part. The part Raven had heard before her mother had taken her back to reality. Desperate to change the subject, Raven looked around the room. She then realized something.

"My room. It's back to normal." Raven said slowly. And sure enough, it was. The furniture that had crashed through the window was back in place. The window itself had been repaired. The glass that had once been scattered everywhere was now cleaned up. The room had been put back to the way Raven liked it.

Beast Boy began to panic. He blushed. "Raven, I'm so sorry. It's my fault. I wanted to do something nice for you, so I fixed it. I should've asked you for your permission. I'm…" Raven reached out and grabbed his arm and he blushed even more. That silenced him.

"Thank you." Raven said, giving him a soft smile. She sincerely meant it.

'…you cannot be afraid to love….'

'…there will always be risks…'

'….you have to ask yourself if the person is worth the risk…'

Raven's headache came back as all the thoughts ran through her head. She shifted herself on the bed so that she was turned away from Beast Boy.

'Is he worth the risk?'

"Beast Boy… there's one thing I left out in the story." Raven said, using up every ounce of courage she had left in her body. Her stomach hurt from all of the nervousness. But, she had to do this.

"What?" Beast Boy replied.

Raven took a big, deep breath. Her stomach ached even more.

"One of the last things I saw when I was watching you and Malchior… you were still arguing. You asked him if he ever loved me… and he said that it was a shame that I had never been loved," Raven began. She was going to get this off her chest even if it killed her.

Beast Boy's eyes lit up with fear. He knew the rest of the story. He realized what he had said that night. He knew exactly what was coming.

"Then you were thrown against the wall. But you said… you said… 'speak for yourself'." Raven continued, shaking. But she felt relieved. The worst part was over. But the question remained.

"What did you mean?"

He was stuck. Physically and emotionally. There was no way out of this one. There was no escaping the truth. But did Raven want to hear the truth? Did Raven really want to hear the changeling confess the feelings he now realized he had?

"Um…" he started. Raven turned slightly, just slightly enough so that Beast Boy could see her face. Beast Boy was suddenly filled with warmth. Her face. Her beautiful face.

Just then, time froze. Nothing moved. Beast Boy yelped in shock of the sudden change. A white flash filled the room and almost blinded the green hero. The flash subsided, and a woman appeared out of nowhere.

The figure approached Beast Boy, looking vaguely familiar. Something about her was similar.

The woman held out her hand to Beast Boy. He was startled by the sudden movement and was about to back away when the woman spoke.

"It's time you've learned about my daughter."

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Very long chapter. But, hey! It's what you guys wanted. A fair warning: I've reached the place where I am at in my notebook. So if I don't update in a few days, it's because I'm still trying to figure out what will happen next.

But, the good thing is, I'm much better now. Back to my own healthy self. So it shouldn't take me long to figure out where I want to go next with this story.

Thank you to all my reviewers! I love you guys so much and I'm definitely listening to you. Also, thank you to everyone that has added me to their alerts and/or favorites. I'm glad you like the story.

PLEASE REVIEW! I DON'T BITE, I PROMISE.

Love, Liz.

(AKA, flightlessraven.)